A very traditional, old-school producer (nearly 80 years old!) of one of Spain’s more overlooked ancient red varieties, called Bobal, Vera de Estenas bottles this gorgeous, natural version entirely from their estate vines. Situated at 800m elevation near the mouth of the Estenas river, near the foot of the Sierra del Remedio mountains, their en vaso trained vineyards run northwest to southeast along a broad stretch of calcareous clay soils. Summer brings scorching heat, but a cooling wind called the Solano brings relief… All of this amounts to a Valencia wine that is super-satisfying: medium-weight, great freshness, dark purple and black plum notes but with clear calcareous minerality creating tension. Just a remarkable value of a Spanish red and not something that will overwhelm during non-winter months and meals!
